The 1902 Edition of Hosea Ballou’s “A Treatise on Atonement”

Peter Newport, a colleague and friend, tagged me via Facebook with the following excerpt from “A Treatise on Atonement” by Hosea Ballou (Treatise was originally published in 1805).

The earth, in time of drought, ceases to be fruitful; the streams and springs thereof are dried up; the fields put off their robes of green, and gardens afford no fragrant delights; but when the heavens give the wonted blessing in gentle showers, how suddenly is the face of nature changed! The purling rill murmurs through the mead, pastures and fields teem with vegetation, and gardens blush with enameled beauties. So the soul, unwatered with the rain of righteousness, and destitute of the waters of eternal life, is like a barren fig-tree that yields no wholesome fruit. But behold the transition; the moment atoning grace is effective in the mind, the parched ground becomes a pool, and the thirsty land streams of water. The soul is like the earth that drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom they are dressed; and, like a garden well watered and cultivated, yielding all manner of precious fruits. Look on the trees, after autumn has plucked their leaves, and winter frozen their trunks and limbs.

Without faith in spring, their future life would be hopeless; but wait for the season of nature’s appointment, when the increasing majesty of the sunbeams gently removes the chains of frost, and warm zephyrs are breathed on the surrounding snow, removing ti from the land; the embryo blossom, nicely concealed in frost, now swells with genial heat; and the leaf, so nicely folded in winter’s chest, now displays its matchless green, and the whole forest rejoices in expanded delights. So, if we look on man, in the sinful Adam, there is no appearance of heavenly life, or divine animation; the soul is bound in the fetters of sin, froze with covetousness, and apparently dead in the winter of iniquity. But behold the Sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings, removing sin, by the power of grace, and killing moral death, with divine life and animation, and causing the soul to rejoice in the kingdom of grace and glory. Then it may be rightly said, “The winter is past, the rains are over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, and the time of singing is come.”

How mysterious are the ways of God! What infinite depths of wisdom lie concealed from the sight of mortals! He who varies the seasons of the year, and diversifies nature through so great a number of changes, without losing the smallest particle of matter, can carry his rational creatures through all the dispensations designed in infinite wisdom, without losing any, and consummate the whole glory at last.

Suffer me, kind reader, in my faithfulness with the saints, to excite a close examination. It can be of no avail to believe we are partakers of atoning grace unless that is really the case. I am of opinion that many may be deceived in these things; some may suppose they are experimentally acquainted with them, when in reality they have no other evidence of it than that some godly minister, as they suppose him to be, can fellowship them as Christians; while others do, in reality, feel this divine spirit of grace in its atoning operations, but dare not suffer themselves to believe it, because they have not obtained the approbation of some in whom they have been taught to put confidence.

I would, therefore, note some faithful evidences in this case which will not deceive us; and in doing this I shall keep the reader close to the spirit of the law, which is love to God and man. From these two points and their consequences, all the evidence which can be obtained must be deduced. The question then is, do you love God? If you answer yes, I ask, why do you love him? and why do you endeavor to serve him? If you answer, because it is your duty, and you fear his rod if you do not; I tell you you are deceived; you have no real love to your Maker. Undoubtedly you would say (as many vain professors have said), “If you were certain of salvation in the world to come, you would do all the mischief here you could.” If the Gospel of Jesus Christ have any enemies in this wicked world, you are of that class. Your profession of Christianity for forty of fifty years; your attention to Church ordinances, and the mighty parade you have made in a round of (what you call) religious duties, have only served to paint you like a whited sepulcher. You lack the one thing needful, which is love. You are ready to oppose all professors of Christianity who do not subscribe to your articles of faith. The weapons of your warfare are a tongue of slander, and a spirit of persecution; and you are daily raising false accusations against those who faithfully serve the Lord in spirit and in truth.

The Pharisees of old made as great professions of religion as you do, and were as punctual to those customs whereby they made void the law as you are to those whereby you made void the Gospel; and like you they were zealous of defending their religion; and in their zeal they murdered the Lord of life and glory! Perhaps you will say the author is hard in his reproofs. I reply, if you, who answer the questions as I have stated, are not of the class of which I speak, you will not feel the rebuke; but if you are, you not only deserve it, but greatly need it. On the other hand, if you can truly say, you love the Lord on account of the divine beauties and excellencies you behold in him; that he is in truth, to you, altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousand; that you delight in his service, because it is your meat and drink to do his will; that your greatest enjoyment is obedience to his commands, which are joyous and not grievous, and in keeping of which there is great reward; let you denomination be what it may, let you live in what part of the world you will, you are a friend to the religion of Jesus, and you have sweet communion with him who sits at the right hand of God. Are you rich in the things of this world; you view all your possessions at the will, and you whish to have them at the disposal of the Master whom you serve; are you adorned with titles of human honor, how sweet it is to lay all these things at the feet of him whom you esteem infinitely honorable. Are you poor in the good of fortune, you possess the true riches; are you a disconsolate widow, behold God is your husband, and the father of your fatherless children.

Atoning grace produces all which the Bible means by conversion, or being born of the Spirit; it brings the mind from under the power and constitution of the earthly Adam, to live by faith on the Son of God, and to be ruled and governed, even in this life, in a great measure, by the law of the spirit of life, in Christ Jesus. It opens eternal things to our view and contemplation; it brings heaven into the soul, and clothes the man in his right mind; it inspires the soul with divine meekness and boldness at the same time. It was this that enabled the apostle of our Lord to preach the Gospel, in defiance of the rage of their enemies, and gave them immortal consolations in their sufferings for the cause of truth. It causes the Christian to love all God’s rational creatures, and to wish their saving knowledge of the truth; it produces good works in their purity, and all the morality worth the name is founded on it. Its divine power is stronger than any possible opposition, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; it opens a door of everlasting hope, and conducts the soul, by the way of the cross, to immortality and eternal life. This dispensation of atonement is manifested through Christ, for the reconciliation of all things to God, in his glorious kingdom of holiness and happiness.

Seekers desiring to learn more about the spiritual expression of universal salvation would do well to search out and read this work.